Hart District Council has approved plans to build 130 homes by two developers after receiving 300 letters of objection

Plans to build 130 more homes in Hook have been approved, despite nearly 300 letters of objection.

Hart District Council’s planning committee backed a Taylor Wimpey bid to build 60 homes on land at High Ridge Farm in Newnham Road as well as plans by Banner Homes Southern and
Gleeson Developments for 70 homes on land adjacent to Reading Road.

The
council received 180 letters of objection to the Taylor Wimpey application, with people warning the proposed development was on a greenfield site and would erode the green gap between Hook and Newnham.

They
also highlighted access and drainage issues and said no more homes should be built in Hook beyond the 550 homes already proposed.

Hook
Parish Council also objected, warning the proposed development was outside the settlement boundary and therefore a countryside development.

It
added the suggested foul water pumping into the sewer to the rear of Goose Green was not a viable solution and problems with the diameter of the existing system had already caused flooding of gardens in Goose Green.

Hart also received 96
letters of objection to the 70-homes plan on land adjacent to Reading Road. Objectors warned the proposed development was outside the settlement boundary and on a greenfield site. They added there was no need for more homes in Hook and the proposal would affect the nearby Special Protection Area and result in a merging of Hook and Rotherwick.

Hook
Parish Council objected again, warning the proposed development could not be viewed in isolation as the water supply is limited and there is no capacity at the sewage pumping station.

The
parish council said the attenuation tanks that are the suggested solution for this proposal, the extra homes to the north east of the town and the proposed Sainsbury’s store cannot be sustainable in the long term.

“The tanks will need to be emptied in the event of pump breakdown or power failure by large tankers (the pumping station needs this relief frequently), which will be noisy, smelly and inconvenient to residents,” warned the parish council. “Hook could
become a parish of large attenuation tanks, taking the facilities back some 100 years. In the modern day this is not acceptable, and in combination with other proposals will become intolerable.”

But
on both applications, Hart’s planning committee ruled planning permission should be granted where it contributes to sustainable development in the district.

She has been editorial director of the online and print titles in Surrey and north-east Hampshire since 2007. Marnie previously worked at the BBC as a producer for 5 Live, having moved to national radio from BBC Sussex and Surrey.